PRESS RELEASE

EU Deliberations on Military Intervention in Libya

May 26, 2015 (EIRNS)—Wikileaks has published details on the plans discussed and passed by the European Union on May 18, which lays out a military operation against cross-Mediterranean refugee transport networks and infrastructure. It details plans to conduct military operations to destroy vessels used for transporting migrants and refugees in Libyan territory, thereby preventing them from reaching Europe. The EU member states’ military chiefs’ advice is that there is a need to draw

"on the full range of surveillance, intelligence and information capabilities available to MS [member states] and Partners, and supported by Brussels (inter alia EEAS [European External Action Service] Single Intelligence Analysis Capacity—SIAC)."

The plan also acknowledges the possibility of EU military use of force against groups such as ISIL

"within [sic] the Libyan sovereign area," stating that "the threat to the force should be acknowledged, especially during activities such as boarding and when operating on land or in proximity to an unsecured coastline, or during interaction with non-seaworthy vessels. The potential presence of hostile forces, extremists or terrorists such as Da’esh [ISIL] should also be taken into consideration."

The documents mark a departure from previous EU military strategy in its overt targeting of civilian infrastructure in Libya. Numerous EU countries, including Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, participated in NATO-led air strikes on Libya in 2011.